The business model
How auto finance works
Five players, one money flow — and where Kairo fits.
The five players
Buyer
Wants a car, borrows the money
Dealership
Sells the car (single store or dealer group)
Lender
Funds the loan — bank, credit union, or OEM captive
Core software
Kairo / NetSol — the platform the lender runs on
Dealer networks
RouteOne / Dealertrack — connect dealers to lenders
Follow one $30,000 car
- 1
Buyer picks a $30,000 car at the dealership.
- 2
Dealer sends the application (via a dealer network) to several lenders.
- 3
A lender says yes and pays the dealership the $30,000. The dealer is paid.
- 4
The buyer repays the lender ~$36,000 over 5 years — the extra ~$6,000 is interest, the lender's profit.
- 5
The lender shares a slice of that interest with the dealer (“dealer reserve”).
- 6
To decide, fund, and service that loan, the lender pays Kairo for the software.
How everyone makes money
| Player | Makes money from | Who pays them |
|---|---|---|
| Dealership | Car margin + F&I products + dealer reserve | Buyer + lender |
| Lender (bank / CU / captive) | Interest on the loan + fees | Buyer |
| Kairo / NetSol | Software fees (subscription + implementation) | The lender |
| RouteOne / Dealertrack | Network & transaction fees | Lenders & automakers |
Where Kairo fits
Kairo sits behind the lender. Banks, credit unions, and OEM captives pay us a subscription plus a one-time implementation to run their lending — decisioning, originations, and servicing — on a modern platform. We're in the same seat as NetSol, just faster and a fraction of the cost.
We don't take a cut of the buyer's interest, and dealers don't pay us — the lender is our customer.